Johnson's Bathurst dream hits a wall

What was supposed to be a gentle run across the mountain for co-drivers turned nasty when Johnson went into the wall at the Cutting.

The damage looked worse than it turned out to be but the panelbeaters and mechanics were working feverishly to get the Falcon ready for the Top 10 shootout.

But Johnson put his car on top of the time sheets in Thursday's practice session to bring some hope.

Winning Bathurst would top a tumultuous year for the team, which went public with its financial struggles last year and picked up a life-saving Jim Beam sponsorship.

The team had been oozing confidence in the lead-up to this year's race as Johnson revealed he had lost 22kg to drive the car.

Co-driver Will Davison felt a few niggles in the car early in the session and Johnson hopped in the driver's seat to give his opinion.

Minutes later he was into the wall.

`I hit the wall at an angle and that made it worse. Otherwise I might have just scraped along the side of the car,” he said. `But Jason Bright and Steve Richards crashed in practice before they won in 1998 so perhaps it's a good omen.”

Davison watched in horror from pit lane as Johnson crashed.

“The car did feel a little nervous this morning, a little tricky to drive. They were difficult conditions with the wind up there this morning.”